Louisville holds off late rally to defeat North Carolina
Louisville women’s basketball won its 10 straight game, defeating North Carolina 74-67 in Chapel Hill Jan. 19. The Cardinals (18-1 overall, 7-0 in the ACC) led by as many as 20 points before North Carolina closed its deficit to four points with just a minute left in a game the hosts never led.
Dana Evans played the entire game, finishing with 22 points and six assists for Louisville. Jazmine Jones added 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting as the Cardinals’ only other player to score in double figures.
Taylor Koenen and Madinah Muhammad each scored 17 points for North Carolina.
Louisville jumped out to a 14-3 lead early in the first quarter as five players scored capped by a shot from Yacine Diop. Evans scored the final basket of the first quarter on a layup to extend Louisville’s lead to 27-14.
A transition layup from Elizabeth Dixon with 1:15 left in the second quarter gave Louisville its largest lead of the game.
Louisville maintained its double-digit advantage until Leah Church made a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter during a 7-0 North Carolina run. Koenen made a shot from behind the arc with 1:22 left to pull North Carolina within 71-67.
After a Louisville turnover, North Carolina missed a chance to close its deficit to one possession as Muhammad couldn’t make a shot from behind the arc with 33 seconds left. Elizabeth Balogun rebounded the missed 3-pointer for Louisville.
Evans made a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to seal Louisville’s road win.
